Am I forgetting anything...??

So, I'm going to build my first rack. I only have one small BP now, 115g, and if I get any others, they will likely be hatchlings as well. So I'm planning my first rack to be three shelves. I've picked up some rubbermaid tubs that are readily available to me. My measurements will allow two 15qt tubs per shelf, or one 34qt tub (sidways) in each shelf. For the 15's, I've allowed space to slide a divider between the tubs so the snakes can't see each other.

I have the following so far:
1 - 4'x8' sheet of 11mm black pvc
2 - 15qt tubs
1 - 34 qt tub
3 - 27" strips of 4" flexwatt (one per shelf)
-Enough hides for 2 per tub, should I need them.
-Waterbowls for each tub
-Lots of papertowls :)
-Herpstat 2 (just ordered this morning)
-I will likely have one accurite for each tub. I'm still not sure if I want to run a probe to each tub with the accurite or just leave the whole accurite in the tub. Any recommendations on this?


Is there anything I'm missing or forgetting? I am planning on leaving the lids on the tubs in the racks, mostly to please my wife. Once i get the rack built, heat tape installed, and herpstat setup, I'll run the system for a while to see how my temps and humidity are. I'll then add holes to the tubs as needed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LittleTreeGuy

So, I'm going to build my first rack. I only have one small BP now, 115g, and if I get any others, they will likely be hatchlings as well. So I'm planning my first rack to be three shelves. I've picked up some rubbermaid tubs that are readily available to me. My measurements will allow two 15qt tubs per shelf, or one 34qt tub (sidways) in each shelf. For the 15's, I've allowed space to slide a divider between the tubs so the snakes can't see each other.

I have the following so far:
1 - 4'x8' sheet of 11mm black pvc
2 - 15qt tubs
1 - 34 qt tub
3 - 27" strips of 4" flexwatt (one per shelf)
-Enough hides for 2 per tub, should I need them.
-Waterbowls for each tub
-Lots of papertowls :)
-Herpstat 2 (just ordered this morning)
-I will likely have one accurite for each tub. I'm still not sure if I want to run a probe to each tub with the accurite or just leave the whole accurite in the tub. Any recommendations on this?


Is there anything I'm missing or forgetting? I am planning on leaving the lids on the tubs in the racks, mostly to please my wife. Once i get the rack built, heat tape installed, and herpstat setup, I'll run the system for a while to see how my temps and humidity are. I'll then add holes to the tubs as needed.

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Seems like you got everything. I personally don't use hides as i made the shelves a little deeper so that most of the tubs are hidden. Also i personally would skip the dividers and save a bit a change as mine seem to care less about their neighbors. Actually they may like their neighbors. I had one snake squeeze out of her tub into her neighbors. I found them all cuddled together lol. Fixed that issue so wont happen again. I only have a couple of accurites. I leave the unit it one tub and then the probe in another. This allows be to get readings from two tubs per unit. I also think craft paper may be cheaper than paper towel. I get a huge roll off of amazon for $14. Its more durable than paper towel and seems to last longer.

I don't think you were listing all building materials but don't forget the wire, solder, and electrical tape if you are wiring the flexwatt\thg yourself.

Thanks man. I'm having Reptile basics wire the flexwatt for me, so that's one less thing I have to worry about. I will look into the craft paper, for sure. Thank you.

Np man. I did mine a couple months ago so i'm still in building mode and am happy to see and hear other peoples progress. Have fun!! :gj:

don't forget aluminum tape. u will need that to keep your heat tape in place in the rack.

also will each piece of heat tape have it's own plug? or will they all be wired together to run parallel?

if they are all wired together resulting in 1 plug, u can plug that directly into your Herpstat.

if they will 3 separate pieces resulting in 3 plugs, u might want to get a powerstrip and plug all of them into that. then plug the power strip into the Herpstat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ax01

don't forget aluminum tape. u will need that to keep your heat tape in place in the rack.

also will each piece of heat tape have it's own plug? or will they all be wired together to run parallel?

if they are all wired together resulting in 1 plug, u can plug that directly into your Herpstat.

if they will 3 separate pieces resulting in 3 plugs, u might want to get a powerstrip and plug all of them into that. then plug the power strip into the Herpstat.

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Yep... got that covered. I may not use all three shelves for a while, so I thought about putting each shelf on it's own switch, but have just decided I'll get a power strip. Thanks for thinking of that though. :)